Turkuaz's newest album "Life In The City" debuted on September 28, and if you haven't checked it out yet, you're missing out. I sat down with Dave, one-ninth of Turkuaz, to talk about musical inspirations, what we can expect from them in the future, and where they got their quirky name.
The title track "Life In The City" sets the tone for the bands moody and jazzy album. I asked Dave about the theme of the album, "non-stop stimulation" is pretty much the gist. It's obvious in this first song on the album with the vocals, the different synthesized beats, and the various instruments brought to you by the multi-talented band. The band has said before that the song itself is about being pre-occupied with modern life, but I wanted to dig a little deeper. What made this the title track? "This song proved to have a theme that went through the whole album. It's non-stop stimulation. It's dark and weird time in the world," Dave went on to say, "It's kind of about when you forget who you are at your core. The album does a lot of exploring. Lyrically it's a lot darker than what we've put out in the past." He added later, with a chuckle, "We don't wanna bum people out, but it [the lyrics] is a juxtaposition between the upbeat music, and it's got multiple layers."
"If I Ever Fall Asleep" is another song on the album (I think it fits for the City That Never Sleeps if I do say so myself). Jerry Harrison worked on this song with Turkuaz, so of course, I had to ask Dave, an avid and devoted listener to the Talking Heads, how that experience was. "[If I Ever Fall Asleep] was written by myself and Josh then we took it to Jerry. E.T. Thorngren came to Brooklyn, and they worked on it. It was a real trip to be working with them."
Of course, I had to ask what their musical inspirations are. Dave, not being able to speak for his fellow band mates (based on the fact that he incredibly jazzed to talk about his various musical inspirations) named some powerhouses. "Talking Heads, Sly & the Family Stone, I grew up listening to The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones. Oh, also, James Brown, Earth Wind & Fire, Prince, and Michael Jackson." All of these artists lend a hand to the style of this album making it a great eclectic mix of sounds. Dave also said, "I mean, there are nine people in the band- each person would have different answers." It's that uniqueness that gives Turkuaz their ultra-cool sound.
As per usual, I was curious about the creative process that goes into writing a whole album, or even just a single. Dave was able to give me his process; "It varies from each album and song. The biggest commonality is the instrumental demo. The groove is such a fundamental element. Sometimes the lyrics are just nonsense words for a little while- you're always looking for a special type of lyric. Ultimately, you're able to fit it to the music sonically."
As for the future, Dave told me there's going to be a lot of touring. Starting on October 4 and going until November 17, Turkuaz is putting boots to the ground to bring this killer album to the people.
There's going to be a New Years' run as well and lots of shows all across the country. "The album has nine songs, but we recorded more, and about 20 were excluded from the album so early next year you'll probably start seeing them trickle out". There's also going to be an in-studio version of "If I Ever Fall Asleep." So, there's a lot to look forward to in the likes of new music in these next coming months.
The whole album offers something for everyone; there's electronic beats, some Gospel vibes, electric guitar solos, and moody lyrics. It's catchy, and most importantly it makes you feel good.
